The entire rule
If you can say “than” in English, say “als”. If you would say “as” or “like”, say “wie”. Many native speakers get this wrong. You are now ahead of them.
Is it “besser als” or “besser wie”?
The answer is unambiguous: “besser als”.
“Besser” is the comparative of “gut”. Two things are not equally good, they are unequal, and inequality takes “als”. “Besser wie” is common in speech and still wrong in writing.
The comparative takes “als”
Whenever an adjective is in its comparative form (größer, kleiner, besser, schlechter), it is followed by “als”. Two things are compared and they are not equal. This is exactly where English uses “than”, and the mapping is reliable.
- Berlin ist größer als Bremen. Berlin is bigger than Bremen.
- Ich bin früher aufgestanden als du. I got up earlier than you. (Allegedly.)
- Nichts ist schlimmer als ein falsches „wie“. Nothing is worse than a wrong “wie”.
Inequality without a visible comparative also wants “als”: anders als (different from), nichts als (nothing but), niemand als (no one but). Here English switches to “from” or “but”, which is why learners hesitate. German does not.
Equality gets “wie”
When the adjective stays in its base form, usually with “so” or “genauso” in front, the two things are equal. Then it is “wie”. This includes multiples: “doppelt so schwer wie” (twice as heavy as) is an equality comparison with a factor, not a comparative.
- Sie ist so groß wie ihr Bruder. She is as tall as her brother.
- Das Meeting dauerte genauso lang wie befürchtet. The meeting took exactly as long as feared.
- Er schläft wie ein Stein. He sleeps like a stone. The stone has not complained.
“Wie” also introduces examples (Städte wie Berlin, cities like Berlin) and asks about manner (Wie geht es dir? How are you?). Neither is a comparison, both are correct.
Where it still goes wrong
- als ob
- “As if.” Always “als”. “Wie ob” does not exist, even if it sounds as if it should.
- anders als
- “Different from.” Inequality without a comparative, still “als”. The most common mistake on this list.
- so … als
- Wrong when equality is meant. “So gut als möglich” is archaic; today it is “so gut wie möglich”, as good as possible.
- sowohl … als auch
- “Both … and.” A fixed phrase, not a comparison. The rule does not apply here.
- als (time)
- “Als ich klein war”: when I was little. A single past event. English “when”, German “als”.
- als (role)
- “Er arbeitet als Lehrer”: he works as a teacher. A function. “Wie ein Lehrer” would mean he only acts like one.
- als wie
- Both words at once. Wrong in standard German, with one famous exception (see § 5).
Why anyone confuses them at all
“Als” is a shortened form of “also” in its old sense of “just so”. Until the 18th century, “als” and “wie” were used largely interchangeably in comparisons, often together. The grammarians of the Enlightenment, above all Johann Christoph Adelung, sorted them out: “als” for inequality, “wie” for equality.
„Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor, und bin so klug als wie zuvor!“In many dialects, especially in the south and west, the old “größer wie” lives on. Spoken, it is perfectly normal there. In written standard German it is a mistake, and if you avoid it you will sound more careful than a fair number of natives.
than → als. as / like → wie. And “als wie” only if you are Goethe.
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